Harry Dodgshun Bedford (31 August 1877 – 17 February 1918) was a New Zealand university academic and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the City of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

Biography

Early life

Bedford was born in

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...

, a suburb of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, Yorkshire, England, in 1877. Alongside his four sisters and together with their mother, they emigrated to

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

in 1886 to reunite with his father. He received further education at Clifton School and left after Standard 6 (year 8) to work for his father's tailoring business. He completed a PhD at the University of Otago in 1916, with a thesis on the history of banking in New Zealand. He later became a professor of

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

in Dunedin. He married Ella Brown in 1907. One of their four children, John Dodgshun Bedford (born 1916), was the father of the human geographer

Richard Bedford Richard Bedford is a Grammy Award-nominated British singer-songwriter. Biography Bedford is widely known for his vocal work in electronic dance music (EDM) and trance including his collaborations with Above & Beyond on their 2011 album '' ...

Member of Parliament

Harry Bedford represented one of the multi-member City of Dunedin seats in the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by hi ...

from

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...

to 1905. Bedford was an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

in 1902 topped the poll for Dunedin City with 10,088 votes. He became the sensation of the 1902 election: a political novice who had obtained the highest individual vote ever recorded in New Zealand. The ''

Lyttelton Times The ''Lyttelton Times'' was the first newspaper in Canterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by the Canterbury Association as part of its planned settlement of Canterbury and developed into a libera ...

'' described him as "the 'idol of Dunedin' ... young, good-looking, able, earnest, energetic and highly attractive as a speaker". In , Bedford stood for the new seat of

Dunedin North Dunedin North, also known as North Dunedin, is a major inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, located northeast of the city centre. It contains many of the city's major institutions, including the city's university, polytechnic, ma ...

but was not successful. He contested Dunedin West in as an

polling 3,635 votes to 778 votes for Jim Munro. The seat was held by John Millar on the second ballot. Harry Bedford joined the United Labour Party in 1912.

Biography

Early life

Member of Parliament

Death

Books

References

Further reading